Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04TELAVIV1643
2004-03-17 10:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

HOME DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA - HIGH HUMANITARIAN TOLL

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001643 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2009
TAGS: EAID ECON GZ IS KWBG PHUM PREF PREL PTER ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT
SUBJECT: HOME DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA - HIGH HUMANITARIAN TOLL
AS IDF ACTS AGAINST TUNNELS AND WIDENS BORDER

REF: A. TEL AVIV 513


B. TEL AVIV 6070

Classified By: DCM Richard LeBaron, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 001643

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2009
TAGS: EAID ECON GZ IS KWBG PHUM PREF PREL PTER ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS GAZA DISENGAGEMENT
SUBJECT: HOME DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA - HIGH HUMANITARIAN TOLL
AS IDF ACTS AGAINST TUNNELS AND WIDENS BORDER

REF: A. TEL AVIV 513


B. TEL AVIV 6070

Classified By: DCM Richard LeBaron, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary/Comment: Humanitarian conditions in Rafah
rank among the worst in the Palestinian territories. In the
past three years, over 10,000 persons in Rafah have been made
homeless by IDF home demolitions. The donor community has
spent millions of dollars responding to this ongoing
humanitarian emergency and many donors believe the
humanitarian toll caused by these demolitions is
disproportionate to the security gains achieved by Israel.
For example, during the major October demolitions, the IDF
discovered three arms smuggling tunnels, but close to 1,500
persons were made homeless. The IDF maintains it has
considered technical/engineering solutions to the tunneling
problem but there are no viable alternatives to home
demolitions at this time.


2. (C) Comment: As the Israelis consider withdrawal from
Gaza, issues in Rafah are among the most difficult to manage.
At the top of their security worries is smuggling of more
effective weapons. Rafah is often the scene of pitched
battles between Palestinian militants and the IDF, with a
tank incursion going on as we write. In this environment, we
see no evidence that the IDF is thinking about the longer
term consequences of home demolitions for the Palestinians,
for international donors, and much less for creating a more
stable environment in Gaza that could improve Israel's
security. The Israeli focus now is on "teaching the
terrorists a lesson," to disabuse Palestinian militant groups
of the notion that their actions forced Israel to leave Gaza.
The policy, especially if the violence in Gaza escalates,
will have consequences for stability and recovery in Gaza
after the Israeli pull-out. (End Summary/Comment)

-------------- -
Over 10,000 Made Homeless; Donors Pay Millions

-------------- -


3. (U) Since October 2000, over 10,000 people have been
made homeless in Rafah, according to UNRWA. The breakdown is
as follows: Number of homes demolished - 1,075; Number of
families affected - 1,968; Number of persons affected -
10,092. Roughly two thirds of all those currently homeless
in Gaza are from Rafah. The rate of home demolitions in
Rafah has increased dramatically over the past three years.
In 2001, an average of 12 homes were destroyed per month. In
2002, the average was 35 per month; and in 2003, the average
increased to 70 per month.


4. (U) The international relief community has responded to
the needs of the homeless by providing emergency aid in the
form of cash and in-kind assistance such as blankets and
tents. From October 2003 to February 2004, UNRWA provided
roughly USD 564,000 in cash to 1,347 families to assist them
in finding temporary housing. Due to the deteriorating
humanitarian conditions, the World Food Program (WFP) is now
providing food to 5,469 families in Rafah, compared with
3,472 in August 2003.


5. (U) The above measures -- tents, food, blankets -- are
temporary, stop gap measures designed to address immediate
needs. Permanently re-housing those who have been made
homeless is costing millions and is complicated primarily by
a lack of funding, but also by a shortage of land. To date,
UNRWA has invested USD 17.2 million in its re-housing
program, and the agency says it needs an additional USD 26
million to re-house all affected refugee families.

-------------- ---
Relief Agencies Report: Rafah at Breaking Point;
Cannot Absorb More Demolitions
-------------- ---


6. (C) At the March 9 Humanitarian and Economic Policy
Group (HEPG) meeting, OCHA Country Representative David
Shearer reported that the relief community and its
Palestinian partners are adept in coping with the first 72
hours after wide-scale demolitions. However, the assistance
community had thus far been unable to adequately address the
principal need -- permanent re-housing. Shearer underscored
that in OCHA's view the humanitarian costs in Rafah have been
disproportionate to the security gains made by Israel. He
noted that the IDF had only discovered three tunnels in its
October 2003 operations that demolished well over 100 homes.
Stuart Shepherd, the OCHA Gaza representative, said that the
local coping mechanisms -- moving in with relatives, relying
on temporary shelters provided by the municipality -- have
been exhausted. Rafah he said, can not absorb another round
of demolitions.


7. (C) WFP Country Director Jean-Luc Siblot reported that
the entire Rafah Area is highly food insecure and distributed
a map indicating that most of Rafah fell within their highest
statistical band of food insecurity-- "40 percent or more of
the population." Siblot said, "Rafah should be treated as an
'emergency'. There is no area in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories more in need of more focused attention." Siblot
noted that on his March 8 visit to Rafah, WFP provided food
to a family of 12 -- all living in a one-room garage.
"Living situations like this cannot continue," he concluded.


8. (C) Sam Rose of UNWRA reported that it is experiencing
difficulties in finding suitable land for re-housing and in
securing the financing necessary for construction, with the
latter being far bigger obstacle. Rose speculated that
donors have been reluctant to respond because of the
perception by some that the GOI is systematically
"transferring" the Rafah population. An official from the
European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) said that
the perception of "transfer" may be an issue for some donors.
In addition, however, some donors were concerned by the cost
of the "high-quality" houses that UNWRA is providing. Rose
replied that UNWRA is cognizant of this concern and has
reduced its costs from USD 22,000/ new unit to "about half
that." Rose's comments prompted a round of dark humor
lauding the advantages of "economies of scale."

-------------- --------------
IDF Says No Technical Solution To Stopping Tunneling
-------------- --------------


9. (C) The IDF Southern Command does not believe there is a
technical solution to the tunnel problem in Rafah. The depth
of the tunneling, combined with the make-up of the soil in
the area, defeat most seismic/engineering solutions. The IDF
G-2 for Southern Command has made an exhaustive study of the
geology in the region and maintains a "counter-tunneling"
working group solution. In this group's view, home
demolitions are the only viable solution at this time. The
IDF believes that unabated tunneling would drastically
increase Palestinian weapons smuggling capabilities, perhaps
to include surface-to-surface rockets and surface-to-air
missiles, although it is worth noting that there have been no
large caches of weapons or cases of more sophisticated
weapons discovered so far in IDF anti-tunnel operations. In
addition, the IDF demolished a significant number of homes to
widen the security buffer between Egypt and Gaza in order to
increase its ability to operate in the area and to make
tunnelling more difficult. The IDF is still considering
about how to grapple with new ways of addressing these
security threats in a post-withdrawal environment, with much
greater emphasis on the role of Egypt, and a continuing
debate about whether and how the IDF could continue to
control the Philadelphia Strip.

--------------
Next Steps for Donors
--------------


10. (C) OCHA is preparing a needs assessment focused on
Rafah which will be presented at the next HEPG meeting in
April. While the assessment will focus on a range of issues
including, water, sanitation, and food, we expect that the
overwhelming need will be funding for re-housing.

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